MarkWiltonM

I paid for a full cruise last year and called to cancel it to get the money back. The Celebrity cruise planner suggested they instead refund everything except my deposit. I got the refund within two weeks and am still holding the reservation. Hopefully they will do this for you.

I want to cruise now, but after a year of isolation and social distancing and wearing masks, when I really think about getting on a cruise with people from all over the world and bunching together as we tend to do for boarding, muster drills, dining, shore excursions, etc., I'm not so sure. Not only do I need to be vaccinated but I want everyone else on the ship to be vaccinated as well. And I want to be reasonably sure there are no reported widely spreading variants that could cause reinfection. If the ships sail at less than full capacity with strict Covid safety measures, I'm more likely to go than if it's anything goes with a full passenger load and crew, no social distancing, and no masks. But I don't think the CDC is likely to allow the latter to happen for cruises from U.S. ports for quite some time (certainly not in 2021).

2 minutes ago, jetsfan58 said:

Hearing that the Moderna Vaccine should be avoided if possible as it causes the more severe after effects? Can anyone speak to this talk?

I haven't heard that. In fact, I have heard the after-effects of Moderna and Pfizer vaccines are about the same and vary considerably from person to person. They are very similar vaccines. I had my second Moderna vaccine a week ago. Like the first jab, I had a very sore arm for a couple of days. Also, after the second jab, I had chills that developed 12 hours after the injection and lasted about 8 hours. Otherwise, fine: no fever, no fatigue, no body aches. But everyone is different. I took the Moderna because that was what was offered. No regrets!

We were on Silhouette a year ago (Feb. 23 - March 6, 2020) and they did have escargots nightly in the main dining room.

1 hour ago, catty said:

you might want to discuss the use of ivermectin between you and your doctor for outpatient use.  There are dozens of observational and some formal studies of ivermectin throughout the world except in the Western world.  The overwhelming number of them are positive.  

This came out on March 4 re ivermectin in JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association):

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2777389

I got my second Moderna shot today! Arm is really sore but so far no other issues. We'll see how it goes tomorrow. Unfortunately my spouse is younger than me and in good health so last in line for a vaccine.

10 hours ago, hawkesbaynz said:

About to walk with the dog down to Southampton Water to see what luckless ship is docked there today to resupply.

It's great to live in a cruise ship port, isn't it? I'm in Fort Lauderdale and I drive with my dog over to Port Everglades about once a week to see ships in port for fuel/supplies. It's usually Celebrity or Princess but a couple of weeks ago it was Seabourn. 

I got my second Moderna vaccination today, in Florida. I was lucky to get the second one right on schedule, 28 days after the first shot. I certainly understand the strategy in Canada and the UK of delaying the second dose. Although no one really knows how long the first dose will last before someone needs the booster, this is an extraordinary situation and it makes sense to give more people at least one shot. That said, I remember after I got my first Shingrix vaccine for shingles there was a nationwide shortage in the U.S. and I was not able to get the second one when I was supposed to. I hope no one in Canada has to wait more than four months for their second shot.  

The dress code doesn't say anything specifically about sweat pants so you could probably get away with it, but there may be a few gasps as you pass by your fellow cruisers. Here are the enforced exclusions:

"T-shirts, swimsuits, robes, bare feet, tank tops, baseball caps and pool wear are not allowed in the main restaurant or specialty restaurant at any time. Shorts and flip-flops are not allowed in the evening hours. The dress code will be enforced at all restaurants. And guests are asked to follow the Smart Casual or Evening Chic dress code in the Celebrity Theater for all evening performances. The daily program, delivered to your stateroom and available at the Guest Relations Desk, will be your guide to the correct attire each evening."

This webpage describes what men and women should be "comfortable" wearing in the dining rooms: https://www.celebritycruises.com/faqs/onboard-dress-code

47 minutes ago, TeeRick said:

Seriously at even the optimal scenario that crew members start to be vaccinated by mid-year, by the time they develop immunity and are fully protected we can guess Q4 2021 or so before they can sail with full crews.

It's hard to see how crew members will be vaccinated even by then. Many crew members come from countries that are not expected to fully vaccinate their populations before 2023-2024. https://launchandscalefaster.org/COVID-19

On 2/9/2021 at 3:35 PM, LGW59 said:

"always included" means we're paying for others'  Actually you are not, we are all paying for the AI package, so you are not paying for my drinks, I am.

Anyone who gets their alcohol included in their fare but doesn't drink is indeed subsidizing the cost of alcohol for those who do drink. Obviously, if drinks weren't included, my fare would be lower than yours if you purchased a drinks package as an extra. 

My spouse and I don't drink alcohol, so "always included" means we're paying for others' drinks. This is why we've shied away from all-inclusive luxury lines. Different subject, but I also resent having to pay more now to have a refundable deposit. I like Celebrity Silhouette and Millennium class ships, but I no longer have any loyalty to the brand. I am happy to go on HAL's Pinnacle class ships (Koningsdam, Nieuw Statendam, and the forthcoming Rotterdam) if the price/itinerary is better. I don't like the HAL ships quite as much as Celebrity's (except for the HAL buffet, which is superior to Celebrity's, and the Crow's Nest lounge/cafe, which is great). I'm also looking at less-expensive mainstream brands (namely, Carnival; I like some of their new casual restaurant offerings) as well as Viking and Cunard in the premium category.  

Anyone know if you can sign up to participate in "healthy sailing" test cruises for Celebrity (or other cruise lines)? I have only found an online form for Royal Caribbean.

On 2/5/2021 at 12:01 PM, Turtles06 said:

 

No worries.  It's a commonly made mistake, including by Americans (which I realize you aren't, so at least you have a good excuse 🤣).

Royal Caribbean's website says the Jones Act and the Passenger Services Act are the same:

"The Jones Act (also known as the Passenger Services Act) does not allow ships of Non-U.S registry to embark and debark guests at two different U.S ports, since travel between U.S. ports is prohibited on foreign flagged ships."

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/jones-act

Is this incorrect? I read the same thing on Crystal Cruises' website: https://www.crystalcruises.com/legal/jones-act-cabotage-law

2 hours ago, D C said:

It's frustrating.

My in-laws stumbled into getting vaccinated. They drove to one of the major hospitals to sign up and drove away less than an hour later with vaccines in arms.

 

My 80yo parents tried calling the same place. No luck.  They were on lists with their doctor, the University of Michigan hospital, St Joseph Hospital (the one the in-laws went to) , the health department, etc...

 

Then my aunt says she got an appt at another major hospital where my parents don't have a doctor affiliation.  My mom calls, says she needs help setting up a vaccine appt and they got their jabs 2 days later.   

 

Still not a peep from anyone else they signed up with.  Craziness.   

It does seem quite random. I and 64 with some health issues that increase my risk of severe Covid-19 but I didn't think I'd be eligible for a vaccination for a long time. So I enrolled in a trial of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to test two shots instead of the single shot that J&J is currently seeking approval for. That would have given me a 50/50 chance of getting the vaccine or a saline placebo. Two days before I was supposed to have my first jab, a local hospital called and asked me to come in--in 15 minutes--for the Moderna vaccine. Five days earlier, I had put my name on my rheumatologist's list of patients with high-risk medical conditions. She said at the time she had no idea when I might be able to get a shot. I almost thought I was being punked when the hospital called. The process at this particular hospital (Holy Cross in Fort Lauderdale) was flawlessly efficient and the workers were amazing. But the vaccination center was under lock and key and no one without an appointment was allowed in. Meanwhile, my spouse got the J&J vaccine in the aforementioned trial and the next day he had a low fever and other flu-like symptoms so we are pretty sure he got the vaccine rather than placebo. 

I have a number of friends in their 70s and 80s who were going nuts trying to get appointments a few weeks back. One of them ended up going to a park here without an appointment (although you are supposed to have one), and he got a vaccination with no wait. He called all his frustrated friends and they hustled down and got theirs too. At this point everyone I know here 65 and over has had at least one shot and has the second one scheduled or completed.

I do think there will be much more supply soon and these are just growing pains. I hope everyone can get their shots soon. Then I hope we can all get boosters in due course to cover the emerging variants.  

I would be surprised if cruising at anything close to full capacity and without masks becomes viable before 2023-2024 (or even 2025). The issue now is that there are likely to be so many variants of the Covid virus in circulation, most of which haven't even been identified yet, and of which some will be less susceptible to current vaccines, that it will take much longer than previously supposed to reach herd immunity, if that's even possible. Many experts believe that everyone will need not only one of the current vaccines but also additional boosters against various emerging strains to get the virus in check (and perhaps never entirely eradicated). This may be a depressingly drawn-out process. The much-maligned cruise industry will be dead last in line to be get a green flag by health authorities. 

This article gives a good perspective on the situation with emerging variants: https://www.wired.com/story/worrisome-new-coronavirus-strains-are-emerging-why-now/

Steel was cut today for the Carnival Celebration!!!  We're scheduled for a cruise on this ship in January 2023.

https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/24195-steel-cut-for-new-carnival-ship.html

We will sail as soon as we are both vaccinated (with a high-efficacy vaccine). We are 64 and 59, which puts us in the 16 to 64 age group, which will be the last group to be vaccinated. We are scheduled on the Equinox for November 19, 2021, with final payment due in August. The way the rollout is going I am not confident we will be vaccinated by the time final payment is due. In that case, we'll cancel. We tried to "lift and shift" to the same ship and itinerary for April 2022, but we were told our only option was to cancel the November cruise and book the April 2022 cruise at current rates, which is 33 percent higher than our current rate. I told the CVP if I have to pay that much I'll just sail on Viking. But we ended up booking a cruise on the Millennium for April 2022 and are keeping our current Equinox booking for now. The April 2022 Millennium rate was much better than the Equinox in the same month, and we've never been on an M-class ship so we're excited about it. In 2023, we are so far only booked on a new Carnival ship (Celebration, currently under construction). it will be our first time on that cruise line in 12 years but it was a great deal. 

On 1/7/2021 at 8:28 PM, Cruise Wonderland said:

Has Celebrity always had year-round Caribbean cruises? I don't remember these in the past. I don't think I'd book a cruise sailing in the worst part of hurricane season (August, September, early October) except possibly for the ABC islands since they are out of the hurricane zone. Of course you still have to be able to depart from Fort Lauderdale, weather permitting. We are currently booked on the Equinox for late November 2021 to the ABC islands and Grand Cayman. I hope we can get vaccinated before final payment is due in August and that the cruise isn't canceled. The way the vaccination rollout is going it seems far from certain. And with the vaccine mutating I'm even less sure about things.  

 

Here are all the itineraries:

 

http://creative.rccl.com/Sales/Celebrity/Deployment/CEL_Wonder_Returns_Equinox_Apr22-Apr23_Caribbean_Deployment.pdf

 

Wild guess, but speaking just for cruising from ports in the U.S., if most of the country who wants the vaccine is immunized by the end of the third quarter of 2021, which I've heard described as an aggressive but theoretically possible target, infections should drop drastically and by early to mid 2022 cruise lines should be able to resume normal itineraries and cruise at full capacity. There may also be shorter sailings with capacity restrictions and other precautions before 2022.

Once widespread vaccinations begin, I suspect everyone will be looking closely at the Rt value, which  indicates the average number of people that one person with COVID-19 is expected to infect. A number higher than one means each infected person is passing the virus to more than one other person. When the number drops below one the virus is coming under control and, theoretically, could eventually die out. Since most vaccinated people will not become infected with the virus, the Rt value should begin to drop as more are vaccinated. Fewer cases, hospitalizations, and deaths should correlate with a lower Rt value. I would think that when transmission drops significantly, many aspects of pre-COVID life will resume, including cruising. But there will probably be an interim period where many still wear masks in some situations and at least some social distancing is encouraged. I also don't think we'll ever see self-service buffets again. These had already been eliminated on some cruise ships.

I was looking at a video of the Mardi Gras sea trials and deck plans of the Mardi Gras and the Celebration. The life boats appear to be on a deck (Deck 7?) that does not have an exterior walkway. How would you access the life boats?

We booked Carnival Celebration out of Miami for January 8, 2023. A bit far out but we have a couple of Celebrity cruises scheduled for 2021/2022. Celebrity has recently raised its prices so much we decided to try this new Carnival ship, which was less than half the price of a comparable sailing on Celebrity. We last sailed on Carnival in 2009 (the Miracle). Looking forward to trying the new ship. A larger ship than we prefer but it looks interesting based on the deck plans and renderings. Almost identical to the Mardi Gras I believe. The atrium with the 3-story glass wall looking onto the ocean looks really nice. We don't mind the "blah" itineraries in the Caribbean that others remarked on. We've been to all of the Caribbean ports so many times we primarily sail for the ship and the sun. Also, we live in the Miami/Fort Lauderdale area so it's easier to hop on a cruise ship to the Caribbean than to fly somewhere for a vacation.

Carnival Celebration out of Miami, January 2023

I priced a "Cyber Monday" fare for a cruise I already have scheduled in January 2022 on the Apex. My Concierge Class refundable-deposit fare for the 7-day cruise is $3,287 for two people with 3 perks, beverages, WiFi, and gratuities. I booked this last year. If I book the same cruise now for the same class, the fare is $5,006.98 , including a $200 per room fee for a refundable deposit. The prices for future Celebrity cruises is so high I actually booked a January 2023 cruise on the forthcoming Carnival Celebration. I haven't cruised on Carnival in more than 10 years, but we got an extended balcony on the hump for $2,200 (tax included) for two people for 7 days, less than half what Celebrity is currently charging for the same itinerary and length of cruise. And that's on what will be a brand new ship. A different experience to be sure, but we can do two Carnival cruises for the same price as one Celebrity cruise. Will miss Cafe al Bacio, but perhaps not much else.